Destructive Conflict Resolution, Acculturation Orientations, and Relationship Satisfaction among Ethnic Groups in the Netherlands

We aimed at disentangling the role of ethnicity and of acculturation in relation to destructive conflict resolu-tion and relationship satisfaction among 600 individuals of different ethnicity living in the Netherlands. Ethnic group differences were obtained for destructive conflict resolution and similarities appeared for relationship satisfaction after controlling for age, education, and income. As for cultural differences, the Turkish-Moroccan group was higher on destructive conflict management than the ethnic Dutch group. Turkish-Moroccans also indicated that they continue the argument without listening to their partners more than Antillean-Surinamese individuals. As for relationship satisfaction, immigrants with an Indonesian background reported higher rela-tionship satisfaction than Turkish-Moroccans. Regarding gender differences, females scored higher than males in relation to destructive conflict management and relationship satisfaction. Finally, groups were invariant in relation to the negative relationship between destructive conflict resolution and relationship satisfaction. Yet, cultural maintenance was more strongly and positively related to satisfaction among immigrants with Turkish and Moroccan backgrounds than with Antillean, Surinamese, and Indonesian origins. Nevertheless, cultural adoption was more strongly and positively related to satisfaction among immigrants with Antillean, Suriname-se, and Indonesian origins compared to people with Turkish and Moroccan backgrounds. Cultural maintenance was more salient than cultural adoption in relation to satisfaction.